Piano Lessons With the Devil
by WinterSky101
Summary: …And the risks thereof. Or, Trixie has a sudden musical inclination, Lucifer has never before considered teaching as a career path, Chloe isn't quite sure why she's allowing this, and anyone who tells you Maze likes Trixie is lying.


"Mommy," Trixie told Chloe one afternoon as she slid into the backseat after school, "I want to learn how to play an instrument."

Chloe blinked in surprise. She wondered if Dan had been pushing the idea of playing an instrument, because she sure as hell hadn't. Either that or Trixie had just come up with it on her own, which would be equally surprising. Still, Chloe was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and learning instruments was supposed to be good for kids.

"Okay, honey," she replied, smiling at Trixie in the rear-view mirror. "That's a great idea! What do you want to learn to play?"

"The piano," Trixie chirped with a smile, and before Chloe's thought of "oh no" was even finished, Trixie added, "And I want Lucifer to teach me!"

Which was… not ideal.

"I don't know about that," Chloe replied cautiously. "Don't you want to have a real piano teacher?"

"Lucifer is really good at playing the piano," Trixie replied seriously. "I think he'd be a good teacher."

"Just because someone is good at something doesn't mean they'd be a good teacher," Chloe warned. "And I don't know if Lucifer would have the time to teach you piano. He works with me on cases and he runs his club."

Trixie frowned. "But I want him to teach me," she protested. "I think he'd be good at it."

"We'd have to ask him first," Chloe told Trixie strictly. "And I'm not sure if he'll say yes. If he can't do it, then that's it."

"But if he says he can do it, can he teach me?" Trixie begged.

Chloe weighed her options. If she told Trixie no, she was likely to have a tantrum on her hands. But if she told her it was up to Lucifer… Well, chances were Lucifer was going to say no himself, so then Trixie would be annoyed with him instead of with Chloe.

"If he agrees, he can teach you," Chloe agreed, and Trixie cheered.

Chloe almost felt bad for leading her on.

* * *

"You want me to teach your spawn piano?" Lucifer asked, arching an eyebrow.

Chloe sighed. "No, Trixie wants you to teach her piano, and I told her it was up to you," she corrected, turning down the familiar road that led to her house. She had to pick something up from home for a case, and Lucifer had refused to stay at the station and entertain himself, so Chloe had figured it was as good a time as any to tell him about Trixie's request, considering Trixie was sure to ask the second they got in the door.

"Are you sure she's ready for piano?" Lucifer asked, looking concerned. "She hasn't even mastered fetch!"

"So you can just tell her no and I'll find her a real piano teacher," Chloe added as if Lucifer hadn't spoken.

"Why would I tell her no?" Lucifer asked, his eyes mischievous (which, if Chloe was being honest, was how his eyes looked most of the time).

"You hate Trixie."

"I don't _hate_ her," Lucifer corrected. "I don't like children, but yours isn't one of the worst specimens."

"See, it's stuff like that that makes me think you don't like her," Chloe remarked. "Why would you want to teach her piano?"

"Well, she needs someone better than whoever taught you. Three years of lessons and all you learned was that horrid Heart and Soul? For shame, Detective."

"There are plenty of perfectly good piano teachers in LA, Lucifer. I'm sure Trixie and I can find one."

"But I doubt whoever you find will be as good as me," Lucifer replied with a cheeky smile. "What, are you going to tell your daughter that I was willing to teach her but you said no? After you told her it was my choice?"

"Why are you willing to teach her?" Chloe demanded.

Lucifer's grin widened. "Well, for one thing, I know it'll annoy Detective Douche."

Chloe groaned as she pulled into the driveway. "You are not using my daughter as a pawn in whatever weird vendetta you have against Dan," she warned, but Lucifer was already out of the car and at the door.

"Lucifer!" Trixie cried in joy when she opened it, latching on to Lucifer's leg. Lucifer stiffened and looked down at her with an expression of slight revulsion. Chloe crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, hello, could we not do this every time?" Lucifer asked, peeling Trixie off his leg. "Do you need lessons on personal space as well as piano?"

"Did Mommy ask you if you would teach me?" Trixie gasped, her eyes wide. "Did you say yes?"

"Trixie-" Chloe began, but Lucifer cut her off before she could finish.

"Your mum _did_ tell me that you want me to teach you piano," Lucifer told Trixie. "Should we do lessons on Wednesdays? How does that work for you?"

Trixie's face lit up and Chloe's protest died in her throat. "You mean you'll teach me?" Trixie squealed. Immediately, she threw her arms around Lucifer again.

Lucifer made a face and patted her gently on the head. "Can we not do this every single time?"

"Can we do lessons on Wednesdays, please?" Trixie begged, looking up at Chloe with the big eyes that almost always got her what she wanted.

Chloe looked at Lucifer, who was trying to extract himself from Trixie's grip, and then looked at Trixie, who looked more excited than Chloe had ever seen her before. "Wednesdays work for me," she replied. Trixie cheered.

"Wonderful." Lucifer managed to unwrap Trixie's arms from around his waist. "Detective, don't we have a case to work on?"

"I can't wait until Wednesday!" Trixie chirped as Chloe grabbed the folder she needed and passed it to Lucifer.

"See you later, monkey," Chloe told Trixie, pulling her into a hug. Trixie gave Lucifer a quick hug as well, much to his displeasure, then Chloe and Lucifer left, returning to the car.

"Detective Douche is going to be furious," Lucifer stated smugly.

Chloe glared at him. "You'd better be a damn good piano teacher," she snapped. "If you disappoint Trixie-"

"I won't disappoint her. Trust me, your spawn will be a great pianist when I'm done with her."

"You need to stop calling her spawn."

"So I'm supposed to call her by the hooker name you use for her?" Lucifer retorted. Chloe glared. "Oh, fine, I'll call her Trixie then. Are you happy?"

"Thrilled," Chloe replied dryly.

Lucifer's eyes lit up. "Ooh, can I teach her dirty songs?"

Chloe groaned loudly and dropped her head onto the steering wheel. "I'm going to regret this," she muttered. "I am so going to regret this."

* * *

Somehow, Lucifer managed to tell Dan about the arrangement before Chloe could. Predictably, Dan was furious.

"You mean you're letting this psycho-"

"What did you just call me?" Lucifer cried indignantly, but Dan and Chloe both ignored him.

"-Teach our daughter piano? Chloe, have you lost your mind?"

"Lucifer is not a psycho!" Chloe protested.

"Thank you," Lucifer stated emphatically.

"He's weird, yeah, but he wouldn't hurt Trixie," Chloe added. Lucifer no longer looked so certain that he was being complimented. "And it'll make Trixie happy if he teaches her. Lucifer is willing to do it to make Trixie happy."

"And what, I'm not willing to do things to make Trixie happy?" Dan retorted.

"I didn't say that," Chloe sighed.

"No, but you did imply it," Lucifer added in the obnoxious tone of voice he used when he was pretending to be helpful. Chloe wanted to punch him.

"You stay out of this," Dan snapped. "And stay out of Trixie's life while you're at it."

"Can't, sorry," Lucifer replied, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning back as if he didn't have a care in the world. "We have a piano lesson scheduled for Wednesday."

"I can't believe-" Dan growled, but Chloe cut him off.

"This is what Trixie wants," she told him firmly. "This is what's going to make Trixie happy. Now, if you can talk her out of it, be my guest. But as long as she wants Lucifer to give her piano lessons, and as long as Lucifer's willing to do it, it's going to happen."

"She's my kid too!" Dan protested.

"She's living with me," Chloe retorted, hating that she had to play that card. "If I want her to go to piano lessons with Lucifer on Wednesdays, then she goes to piano lessons with Lucifer on Wednesdays."

"Are you telling me you actually want her doing lessons with him?" Dan cried, flinging an arm out towards Lucifer.

"I want her to do what makes her happy," Chloe replied sharply. "And unless it's putting her in danger, I'm not going to stop her from doing what makes her happy. I don't understand why spending time with Lucifer would make her happy-"

"Hey!"

"-But if it does, then I'll be damned if I take that away from her."

Dan's face was full of impotent fury. Chloe was suddenly glad that Lucifer couldn't read her mind, as she was certain he would make a joke about what else was impotent that would make the situation even worse than it already was. But Dan had his reasons for his frustration. There was nothing he could do, and he knew it.

"You," Dan snapped, whirling around and poking Lucifer in the chest. Lucifer looked down at him with eyebrow raised, as if Dan were watching a vaguely interesting specimen. "If you hurt her, even just the tiniest bit, I will make you regret it."

"I'm certain I wouldn't be the first man to hurt her, but if it makes you feel better to say it, then do go ahead," Lucifer replied, sounding almost bored. Dan glared at him for another moment, then shot Chloe a dark look before stomping off to his desk.

"That could have gone better," Chloe muttered, sinking into her seat.

"Are you joking?" Lucifer asked, turning to her with a wide smile on his face. He smoothed down the front of his shirt, where there was an almost invisible crease from where Dan had poked him. "That was hilarious. Detective Douche was _furious_."

"I suppose that's why you told him about the lessons," Chloe grumbled.

Lucifer blinked. "Well, yes, of course. I told you I was looking forward to his reaction to all this."

Chloe groaned. "I can't believe I'm going to let you teach my daughter anything," she sighed, burying her face in her hands.

"I thought you would do anything if it made Trixie happy?" Lucifer asked in a faux innocent voice.

Chloe glared up at him. "You'd better be a damn good piano teacher," she warned him again. "After all this, I want Trixie to love her piano lessons."

"Oh, trust me," Lucifer replied in an enigmatic voice that didn't make Chloe trust him at all, "she will."

* * *

"Why did you clear your schedule for Wednesday afternoon?" Maze asked Lucifer, frowning at her phone.

"I've got an appointment," Lucifer replied. "In a manner of speaking. Detective Decker's child wants me to teach her how to play the piano."

Maze stared at Lucifer. "And you said no, right?"

"What, and turn down that marvelous opportunity?" Lucifer leaned back on the couch, crossing his legs and sipping his scotch. "Course not. Lessons start on Wednesday."

"Are you joking?" Maze demanded. "What do you know about teaching small humans anything?"

"Well, it can't be too difficult, can it?" Lucifer retorted. "I've seen the school she goes to. If the teachers there can do it, then so can I."

"She'll hug you," Maze warned darkly.

"Yes, we're going to have to work on that."

"Are you going to teach her at the upstairs piano or downstairs?" Maze asked, leaning on the counter.

"Oh, up here, of course. Detective Decker wouldn't be pleased if I taught her daughter in the middle of a nightclub."

"I'm surprised she's letting you teach her daughter at all," Maze muttered under her breath.

"Yes, well, she's not exactly thrilled about it, but her daughter is, so she's allowing it," Lucifer replied. "Come now, Maze, it's not like you don't like Trixie."

"You call her Trixie now?" Maze retorted.

Lucifer scowled. "The detective says I can't call her spawn anymore."

"You're the _Devil_ ," Maze growled. "Why are you listening to this stupid human detective? Why are you agreeing to teach her daughter anything?"

"Oh, stop pretending you don't like Trixie as well," Lucifer retorted. "Don't think I don't know about the time she wandered in here looking for me."

Maze actually looked flustered, which was a first. "That was once," she protested. "How many times have you done something stupidly sentimental for her and her mother?"

"I don't need you telling me what to do, Maze," Lucifer snapped, a hint of fire in his words. "Piano lessons start on Wednesday. It won't impact Lux and it won't impact our schedule. Now, are you going to stop complaining or do we have to keep arguing about this?"

"Fine," Maze snapped, grabbing her drink and stomping off.

Lucifer sighed, leaning his head back on the couch. Then he stood and crossed to the piano, laying his hands on the keys. He had the feeling that, if he tried to begin lessons with the Ellington he was in the mood for, they wouldn't go very well. But he'd promised Chloe that Trixie would enjoy her lessons, so it seemed he had some research to do.

* * *

"Lucifer!" Trixie squealed when Lucifer picked her up from school on Wednesday. Before Lucifer could stop her, Trixie wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Do you not understand the concept of personal space?" Lucifer asked, looking down at Trixie and wishing desperately that she would take a step back.

A moment later, she did, bouncing up and down. "Are you going to take me back to your house to teach me piano now? I want to learn!"

"Yes," Lucifer replied, going to his car and opening the passenger door for Trixie. "Come on, in the car you get."

"I'm not supposed to go in the front seat," Trixie replied seriously, looking at Lucifer with wide eyes. "Mommy says I can't."

"What your mother doesn't know won't hurt her," Lucifer replied, nodding at the seat. Trixie beamed and crawled in, pulling the seatbelt on and kicking her legs. Lucifer went around and sat in the driver's seat, turning the keys in the ignition.

"Seatbelt!" Trixie cried, pointing accusingly at Lucifer.

"What? Oh, right," Lucifer replied, pulling the seatbelt on. He wasn't likely to get in a car crash, and he wasn't likely to die from it even if he did, but he had the feeling that Trixie would be as irritating as her mother was about it.

Trixie chattered on about something inane all the way to Lux, only silencing when Lucifer pulled the car up to the side of the building. He tossed his keys to the valet, gave him a dirty look when the man opened his mouth to ask about Trixie, and went inside.

"Why do you have so many drinks up here?" Trixie asked when they reached the penthouse, looking at the wall of bottles. "Are they all different?"

"Ah, yes, but they're not for you," Lucifer replied, trying to remember if he had any nonalcoholic drinks in the building. He had the distinct feeling that Detective Decker wouldn't forgive him quickly if he gave Trixie bourbon.

"Do you have any apple juice?" Trixie asked.

"Don't think so, no," Lucifer replied.

Trixie frowned. "You'll have to get some for next time," she replied seriously, putting down her backpack and looking through it. "But I still have my second juice box today."

"How charming," Lucifer replied dryly, eyeing Trixie as she stuck a straw into a small box decorated with pictures of dancing apples.

"I thought your piano was downstairs," Trixie remarked after she took a long sip from the box.

"I have another one up here," Lucifer replied, nodding over at the piano just past the bar. "Do you know any songs?"

"Mommy taught me one," Trixie replied, going over to the piano and setting her juice box down on the top. Frowning in concentration, she painstakingly picked out the melody for Heart and Soul.

"Your mother taught you that to torment me," Lucifer muttered.

"I like it," Trixie replied stubbornly. "Mommy says there's another part that goes along with it. She said you could play that part."

"Oh, alright," Lucifer groaned, sitting next to Trixie on the piano and flawlessly accompanying Trixie's stumbling melody.

When they finished, Trixie turned to Lucifer and gave him a gap-toothed smile. "I wish I could play both parts by myself."

"Like this?" Lucifer asked, and despite himself, he began playing the melody with his right hand and the harmony with his left.

Trixie watched him with wide eyes and broke into applause when he finished. "You really _are_ good at piano," she told him seriously. "I want to be as good as you when I'm your age."

"That won't be for a very long time."

"You don't look that much older than Mommy."

Lucifer snorted. "Trust me, I am much older than your mother."

Trixie eyed Lucifer dubiously, then grabbed her juice box and took another sip. "I want to learn how to play Twinkle, Twinkle," she told Lucifer imperiously.

"I think I'm supposed to teach you how to read sheet music or something else inane," Lucifer replied.

Trixie frowned. "What does inane mean?"

"Boring," Lucifer replied, clapping his hands. "Well then, let's teach you Twinkle, Twinkle. Hmm." Lucifer spread his hands across the keys and began playing one of Mozart's variations. Trixie stared at him with wide eyes. Lucifer stopped mid-measure and frowned. "Yes, that might be a little advanced for you," he remarked, looking down at the keys. "Alright." With one hand, Lucifer slowly played the simple melody. "Do you think you could do it?"

"I can try," Trixie replied, putting her hand on the piano.

"No," Lucifer corrected, grabbing her wrist and moving her hand down a few notes. "Your thumb needs to go on C."

"C?" Trixie asked in confusion.

"The note," Lucifer replied, pointing at middle C on the piano. "This is C."

"Shouldn't C be this one?" Trixie asked, leaning over Lucifer to put her finger on the third key on the piano.

"That's a C as well," Lucifer replied. It seemed this was something he'd have to explain. He'd seen a tip in his research that he was loath to do, but it appeared he had no choice. "I'll be right back."

Lucifer ducked into his bedroom and grabbed the roll of masking tape he'd bought the day before, as well as a pen. He returned to the piano see Trixie drinking her juice and tapping absently at middle C.

"Alright," Lucifer stated, sitting next to Trixie on the bench. "The notes on a piano go from A to G. Then they start at A again."

"So if this is C," Trixie said slowly, playing middle C, "then is this D?" She played the next note.

"Very good," Lucifer replied, nodding. "I'm going to put bits of tape on the keys to label them."

"Okay," Trixie agreed, sipping from her juice box again as Lucifer ripped off a few pieces of tape and laid them on the keys. He labeled the scale surrounding middle C, then put the tape and the pen on the top of the piano.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G," Trixie sang, playing the keys. "It sounds weird."

"Yes, well, we're not going to get into that right now," Lucifer replied. "You want to learn Twinkle, Twinkle, don't you?"

"Yes!" Trixie squealed loudly, clapping her hands.

"We have to work on personal space _and_ volume control, then," Lucifer muttered. "Twinkle, Twinkle starts with C," he told Trixie. "Can you figure it out from there?"

When Chloe showed up about an hour later, Trixie squealed again and ran to give her mother a hug. "Mommy, listen to this!" she cried, grabbing Chloe's hand and dragging her to the piano.

"Hello to you too, monkey," Chloe replied, laughing.

"Listen, Mommy!" Trixie looked up at Lucifer, who gave her an encouraging nod, then she slowly picked out the melody for Twinkle, Twinkle. When she finished, she beamed up at her mother. "Lucifer taught me!"

"That's great, honey!" Chloe replied, tousling Trixie's hair. "Grab your backpack, okay? I'm gonna take you home in a minute."

"Okay!" Trixie chirped, skipping over to where she'd left her backpack.

Chloe looked at Lucifer and raised an eyebrow. "Not bad for her first lesson."

"I told you there was nothing to worry about," Lucifer replied lazily, standing. "I'm a wonderful teacher."

Trixie bowled into him so hard it took all of his strength to remain standing. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Are we gonna do this again next week?"

"If your mother doesn't object," Lucifer replied. Trixie looked up at Chloe with big eyes.

Chloe smiled. "Of course I don't."

Trixie cheered. "Bye, Lucifer!" she called as Chloe led her out of the penthouse.

The second the elevator doors closed, Lucifer crossed to the bar and poured himself a drink. "Not as much fun as you thought it would be?" Maze asked, melting out of the shadows.

"Actually, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected," Lucifer replied, downing the drink and pouring himself another. "It's surprisingly easy to teach piano to small children. Perhaps I should open up a side business."

"Don't you dare," Maze snapped. "It's bad enough to have one child traipsing around here. No more."

"Fine," Lucifer sighed, sipping his drink.

Maze walked over to the piano and smirked. "You need labels for the notes now?"

"Yes, well, there were some sacrifices to be made," Lucifer replied, closing the top of the piano. "But the lessons will be continuing next week."

"How long are you going to keep doing this?" Maze groaned.

Lucifer offered her an enigmatic smile over his drink. "We'll have to wait and find out."

* * *

"All Trixie would talk about last night was her piano lesson," Chloe told Lucifer the next morning when he met up with her at the precinct. "She says you two played Heart and Soul."

"Yes, and I know you taught her that to torture me, so thanks," Lucifer retorted sarcastically.

"She said you also played both parts by yourself," Chloe added.

Lucifer pursed his lips. "Your spawn made me do it."

"Sure she did," Chloe muttered, smirking.

"Do we have a gruesome murder to solve today?" Lucifer asked, sounding far too eager about the idea.

"No, actually," Chloe replied, shaking her head. "I do have some paperwork, if you want to help me with that."

Lucifer made a face. "If it's all the same to you, Detective, I'm afraid I must decline. I do have other things I could be doing, and paperwork is not something I consider a worthwhile use of my time."

"Of course it isn't," Chloe sighed. "Alright, fine, go."

"Call me if you need me!" Lucifer called as he left the precinct. Chloe just hoped that whatever it was that Lucifer could be doing wasn't illegal. She figured it was about a fifty-fifty shot.

"So, Lucifer and Trixie had their 'piano lesson' yesterday, right?" Dan asked, his voice sharp. It didn't escape Chloe's notice that he had waited until Lucifer left to come over. "How did it go?"

"Trixie loved it," Chloe replied. "She knows how to play Twinkle, Twinkle now, and she says she wants to be as good a piano player as Lucifer is when she's older. She seems totally sold on the instrument."

"Huh." Clearly, that wasn't the answer Dan had been hoping for. "And you still think it's smart to let Lucifer teach our daughter piano?"

"If she ever tells me that he did anything questionable, I'll deal with it," Chloe replies, her voice hard. "But she's enjoying herself, and Lucifer seems to be a pretty good teacher. He's really trying, Dan. He labeled the keys on his piano for her."

"He's still-"

"I know you don't trust him, but you have to give him a chance," Chloe interrupted. "Trixie loves him, Dan. And if you keep her apart from him, it's not their relationship that's going to suffer."

"Are you taking his side over me?" Dan demanded.

"I'm taking Trixie's side," Chloe stated firmly. "Look, just give him a chance."

Dan huffed. "If he does anything, _anything_ , you tell me about it."

"I will," Chloe promised. "But I don't think he'll do anything."

"He'd better not," Dan muttered ominously.

"I don't suppose you can help me with paperwork," Chloe asked, figuring she ought to at least give it a try. "I'm drowning in it."

"Um…" Dan's eyes flickered around the precinct, as if he were hoping someone would suddenly call him. "I've got some other stuff I need to work on, and-"

"I get it," Chloe interrupted. "You're very busy. You don't have time for paperwork. It's alright, go do whatever you have to do."

"Thanks," Dan replied, promptly disappearing.

Chloe looked down at the paperwork she still had to do and sighed. She understood that paperwork was important, and she understood why, but it didn't change the fact that she absolutely hated it, as did everyone else she knew. "If Lucifer really is the Devil, I bet he invented paperwork," Chloe muttered as she started on the first form.

* * *

Trixie's second lesson with Lucifer went well, as did her third, and her fourth. Dan stopped complaining as much when he saw how much Trixie loved the lessons, and Lucifer began stocking juice boxes in the mini fridge for when Trixie came over. Maze still insisted she didn't like Trixie, but Lucifer knew that they had fun the one time he had to leave for a phone call in the middle of a lesson. No matter how much Maze tried to deny that anything happened, Trixie told Lucifer about it in vivid detail, beaming all the while.

All things considered, the lessons were a success. Trixie was learning to hug Lucifer less, and he was beginning to perhaps not hate it quite as much as he previously had. Chloe gleefully accused him of hugging Trixie back at one point, which, Lucifer insisted, was a baldfaced lie.

Trixie's piano skills improved by leaps and bounds as well. Within a few lessons, she no longer needed the labels on the keys, and she soon was able to play simple harmonies along with the melody. Lucifer had no idea of what a normal human learning curve was when it came to piano, but Chloe seemed to think that Trixie was learning very quickly. If that was the case, Lucifer was certain it was entirely due to his superior teaching.

Trixie even managed, in a feat that shocked everyone involved, to talk both of her parents and Maze into listening to her give a piano concert in Lucifer's penthouse. Dan looked horribly uncomfortable, and Maze lounged at the bar instead of noticeably paying attention, but Chloe watched with rapt excitement that thrilled Trixie, and Lucifer allowed her to hug him once. The concert was, by all accounts a success.

It was a few weeks later that, after Lucifer brought Trixie to Lux, he allowed her to hug him as they got out of the car. Trixie clung to his leg, anyone who told you Lucifer laughed was lying, and in the end, Lucifer swung Trixie up into his arms and carried her into the club.

In retrospect, that was probably what set the ball rolling for the events of one of the worst nights in Lucifer's very long life.

* * *

"Why, hello, Detective. Are you that desperate-"

 _"Someone took Trixie."_

Lucifer jerked upright immediately. Maze, noticing the sudden aura of rage and power, looked up, but Lucifer ignored her. "What did you say?"

 _"Someone took Trixie,"_ Chloe repeated. She sounded like she was trying very hard not to cry. _"She was supposed to be with a babysitter, but when I got home the sitter was unconscious and tied up in the bathroom and Trixie was gone."_

"Do you have any idea who could have done this?" Lucifer demanded.

 _"No,"_ Chloe replied. Lucifer could hear the faint sounds of rhythmic footsteps. It sounded as though Chloe were pacing. _"And Dan and I can't work the case, because we're too close to it. You're not allowed to work it either, but… I thought you should know."_

"Thank you, Detective," Lucifer stated stiffly. His phone was beginning to crack under the stress of being squeezed far more tightly than any human could manage. "I promise you, Trixie will come home soon."

 _"Wait, Lucifer, don't-"_

Lucifer hung up before Chloe could finish her sentence. With sharp, deliberate movements, he put his phone back in his pocket.

"What is it?" Maze demanded, stepping forward.

"Someone has kidnapped Trixie," Lucifer told her. He itched to destroy something, preferably the kidnapper's face.

"Who was it?" Maze looked furious and just as bloodthirsty as Lucifer felt.

"I don't know," Lucifer replied, shaking his head. "We need to find her. We will rescue her. And when we find her, we will kill everyone involved except whoever is in charge."

Maze's eyes widen in fury. "What-"

"You will bring him back to Lux, and we will prepare something special for him," Lucifer added, hellfire in his eyes. "He will never do anything like this again."

Lucifer's phone buzzed. He pulled it out quickly, expecting it to be Chloe. Instead, it was a text from an unknown number. He opened it, read it, and nearly hurled his phone across the room.

"What is it?" Maze urged.

Lucifer shoved the phone at her. Maze looked down at the text that was already burned into Lucifer's memory. _If you want your little girl back, you'll bring one million dollars to the address below_.

"They didn't take her because her parents are cops," Lucifer stated, his voice shaking in fury. "They didn't take her just because she was there. They took her because they thought she was mine, and they thought they could take what was mine." There was inhuman, unholy ferocity on Lucifer's face. "We will show them that they are wrong."

"Are you going to the address?" Maze asked.

Lucifer nodded sharply. "We will get Trixie back."

"They'll have guns," Maze warned. "Do you know if your vulnerability issue with Detective Decker extends to her daughter?"

Surprise flickered across Lucifer's face. He hadn't considered that. "I don't. We'll have to test that after we get Trixie back safely."

"I'll get my knives," Maze stated, leaving the room.

Lucifer looked down at the text on his phone. It was only the knowledge that the information there could save Trixie that kept him from hurling the thing off the balcony.

Maze returned a moment later, knives in hand. "Do you want a weapon?"

"If I need a weapon, I'll use my bare hands," Lucifer snarled. "We're leaving _now_."

Without protest, Maze strode to the elevator. Lucifer followed her. When they left the building, Lucifer climbed into his car and barely waited long enough for Maze to climb into the passenger seat before driving off. The only speed limit he payed attention to was the limits of how fast his car could go, and even still, he only thought of that as a suggestion. They reached the address within minutes and parked in front of the abandoned warehouse that the kidnappers were apparently using.

"You go in first," Maze told Lucifer. She passed him a briefcase that he hadn't known was in the car. "Pretend to have the money. I'll follow you."

"Remember, we leave whoever's in charge alive for now," Lucifer commanded. "We'll have our fun with him back at Lux later."

"Go in," Maze told Lucifer, shoving the briefcase into his hands. Lucifer clutched it tightly, trying to tamp down the inhuman fury in his face enough so as to take the kidnappers by surprise when he did use it.

"Lucifer!" Trixie screamed the second Lucifer entered the warehouse. "Lucifer, help!" The kidnapper next to her waved his gun threateningly. Trixie squirmed as much as she could, tied to a chair. The other kidnappers were all pointing their guns at Lucifer.

"I have the money," Lucifer called. "Give me back the girl and you can have it."

"How do we know it's all in there?" a man asked, stepping forward. Lucifer was immediately certain that this was the leader of the group. He would get to know the man better later, when he and Maze had him tied up and screaming at Lux.

"It's all here," Lucifer replied. "Give me the girl and I'll give you the case."

"Give us the case and you can have the girl."

"Oh, very well," Lucifer huffed, stepping forward. All guns were on him immediately. "I'm just coming to give your boss the money, alright?"

"Move slowly," the man replied, stepping forward himself. Lucifer took slow, deliberate steps towards the man. And at the last second, instead of handing him the briefcase, he swung it into the man's skull.

Chaos descended immediately. Shots were fired, but Lucifer dodged them and raced to Trixie. Maze entered the fray as well, taking down man after man. Lucifer would have to figure out a way to dispose of the bodies later, but it wasn't important now.

Lucifer ran to Trixie and grabbed the entire chair that she was tied to, dragging it to a more secure spot. Trixie was sobbing. "It's alright," Lucifer told her in the most soothing voice he could manage. "It's alright. This is all going to be alright."

"I'm scared," Trixie whispered.

Lucifer pulled out a pocketknife and began sawing at the ropes around Trixie's wrists. "We'll be out of here soon," he assured her. "Don't worry."

A bullet chose that moment to tear through Lucifer's upper right arm. He gasped in shock as the pain hit him. "Maze, test results are positive!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, trusting her to know what that meant. Apparently, whatever it was about Chloe that caused Lucifer's vulnerability also extended to her daughter.

"Are you okay?" Trixie demanded, her eyes wide in horror.

"Hardly a scratch," Lucifer replied, continuing to saw at Trixie's ropes. The wound was more than a scratch, but it wasn't much worse than a graze.

The second the ropes around Trixie's wrists came undone, she flung her arms around Lucifer's neck. "I want to go home," she whispered in his ear. "I'm scared, Lucifer."

"It's alright," Lucifer told Trixie, wrapping his uninjured arm around her in a hug. He didn't give hugs, no matter what Chloe said to the contrary, but he figured this was a special situation. When he pulled his arm away from around Trixie, intent on cutting the bonds around her legs, Trixie didn't budge.

"Are you going to let go?" Lucifer asked. Trixie shook her head, burying her face in Lucifer's neck. "Oh, alright," Lucifer huffed, doing his best to cut through the ropes with Trixie still holding onto him as if for dear life. It took longer to free Trixie's legs, both because of the wound on his arm and her insistent hugging, but Lucifer managed it.

"Alright," Lucifer stated. "I suppose I'll carry you, then. Can you wrap your legs around me?" Trixie silently did as Lucifer asked. "Your mother calls you her monkey, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Trixie said quietly.

"Do you think you can cling to me like a monkey?" Lucifer asked her. Trixie nodded. "I'm going to need you to do that." Lucifer bent down and picking up a gun that was lying abandoned on the floor. He wasn't particularly practiced with firearms, but he thought he could figure it out if he needed to. Maze was doing a good job at clearing the building out, so he wasn't sure that it would even be necessary.

Trixie clung to Lucifer tightly as he made his way to the door as unobtrusively as possible. Hopefully, he could get outside without being stopped.

"Take another step and I'll blow your head off."

Lucifer froze. Apparently, he wouldn't be so lucky.

"Turn around," the man added. Lucifer turned to see a gun pointed in his face. "You thought you could beat us, huh? Not very smart."

"Isn't there a saying about glass houses and stones?" Lucifer retorted.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," Lucifer sighed. "Trixie, don't look." Obediently, Trixie buried her face in Lucifer's neck.

"You don't want her to see you die?" the man taunted. Lucifer ignored him and weighed his options. His right arm, which was holding the gun, was beginning to feel numb. His left arm was wrapped around Trixie to keep her in place. If he was going to shoot, he would have to do it with his right arm, but he wouldn't be able to make any sudden movements. He'd have to figure something else out.

"You don't want to kill me," Lucifer told the man, dropping into a lulling voice. "That's not what you really desire. Tell me, what is it that you want?"

The man's eyes began to go hazy. "I…"

"What do you desire?" Lucifer repeated, pushing the compulsion as much as he could.

The man blinked slowly, completely unaware of his surroundings. "I want-"

And Lucifer shot him.

The bullet tore through the man's chest. He dropped to the ground immediately, dead. Lucifer dropped the gun and made for the door as quickly as he could. He reached it without an issue and went outside, going over to his car and setting Trixie down in the backseat.

"Can we go home?" Trixie begged, clutching Lucifer's sleeve.

"Soon," Lucifer promised. "But Maze needs to finish up in there."

"Maze is in there?" Trixie cried, looking horrified.

"Maze can take care of herself," Lucifer assured Trixie. "She'll be alright."

"Are you sure?" Trixie asked worriedly.

"Absolutely," Lucifer replied, not taking his eyes off the door.

A minute later, Maze emerged, a body slung over her shoulder. "Take Trixie home," she told Lucifer. "I'll deal with this."

"We'll have to make sure the remains aren't found," Lucifer warned.

Maze's smile was feral. "They won't be," she promised. "Take Trixie home. I'll meet you at Lux later."

Lucifer nodded and climbed into the front seat. "Shall we take you back home to your parents?" he asked Trixie. She nodded, clambering up into the passenger seat. Chloe hadn't been pleased when she found out that Lucifer was letting Trixie ride in the front, but he figured there were extenuating circumstances in this instance.

Trixie gripped Lucifer's hand through the entire drive. It was his right hand, which was beginning to feel numb anyway. Lucifer expected that was a bad thing, but he still felt mostly alright. Maze could deal with his arm after he dropped Trixie off at Chloe's and went back to Lux.

When the car pulled up to the house, Chloe ran outside immediately. "Lucifer, tell me you didn't-" Chloe froze the second she saw Trixie in the car. "Oh my god."

"Mommy!" Trixie cried, running forward.

Chloe dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Trixie, burying her face in Trixie's hair. Lucifer stepped out of the car, watching the reunion with a slight smile he didn't even realize was on his face.

"Trixie!" Dan cried, running out of the house and joining the hug. "Oh, honey, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Trixie replied. "Lucifer and Maze saved me."

Dan looked up, apparently only noticing Lucifer in that moment. "Thank you," he told him fervently. "Thank you for saving her."

"I would never let anything happen to her," Lucifer swore.

"Are you hurt?" Chloe asked, looking up and zeroing in on the blood on Lucifer's sleeve.

"Barely," Lucifer replied, even though he was beginning to feel a bit faint. "I'll see you tomorrow, then, Detective."

Trixie pulled away from her parents and ran to Lucifer, throwing her arms around his waist. "Thank you," she whispered. Lucifer wrapped his left arm around her for a moment, then gently pushed Trixie back over to Chloe and Dan.

"Go with your parents," he told her softly. "I'll see you on Wednesday, shall I?"

"Yeah!" Trixie replied, nodding. "Thanks, Lucifer."

"C'mere, Trixie," Dan called. Trixie ran to his side immediately. The two of them went into the house. Chloe, however, remained outside.

"You should go inside with your daughter," Lucifer told her softly.

"Let me see you arm," Chloe said instead, reaching for Lucifer's jacket. Her hands shook as she tried to slide it off.

Lucifer gripped her wrists gently, shaking his head. "Go inside, Detective," he told Chloe. "Maze will deal with this when I get back to Lux. You should spend time with Trixie."

Chloe grabbed Lucifer in a death grip and hugged him as tightly as she could. "Thank you _so much_ ," she whispered. "Never tell me how you did it or I'll probably have to arrest you, but thank you."

"I won't," Lucifer promised, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway." He wrapped his left arm around Chloe. "And you're welcome."

Chloe clung to Lucifer for a moment longer, then let go. "I'll see you at work tomorrow," she said shakily.

"I don't think anyone would blame you if you took the day off," Lucifer told her softly. "I'll come over and visit tomorrow, shall I? I can make lunch, if you want. I'd offer to make breakfast, but I don't know that Dan would like that very much."

Chloe laughed, but the sound was watery. "Probably not," she agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Until tomorrow, Detective," Lucifer replied fondly, getting back into his car. Chloe walked up to her door, but she didn't go inside until Lucifer had already pulled away.

Lux was dark when Lucifer arrived, but he quickly found Maze, sitting at the couch and sharpening her knives loudly. "Where's the leader?" Lucifer asked.

"Chained up over there," Maze replied, jerking her head towards the corner of the room. "I think he might have pissed his pants."

"Unsurprising," Lucifer replied. His steps to the couch were a little wobbly.

Maze's eyes narrowed. "What happened to you?"

"I got shot," Lucifer replied, pulling off his jacket to reveal the bloodstained sleeve of his shirt. "And this shirt is absolutely ruined."

"That's how you knew the mortality issue applied to Trixie," Maze said slowly, going over to get the first aid kit from behind the bar. "I don't like bandaging you up," she called as she pulled it out.

"I don't particularly like being bandaged up," Lucifer replied, shrugging out of his shirt and looking at the wound curiously. "It's not that bad, I don't think."

"You shouldn't be getting shot at all," Maze retorted. "What causes this?"

"I don't know," Lucifer replied. "But I don't regret it."

Maze responded to that by pouring the remains of her glass of bourbon on top of the wound.

" _Bloody_ hell, Maze!"

"I thought it wasn't that bad," Maze retorted, wiping at the blood with Lucifer's ruined shirt.

"That doesn't mean you should pour alcohol on it!" Lucifer cried. "I should have let Chloe bandage it instead."

"Stop being a baby," Maze scolded, wrapping a bandage around the wound. "I had to clean it, didn't I?"

"Most people clean wounds with antiseptic, not bourbon," Lucifer retorted with an expression that was just barely not a pout. "Your bedside manner is horrible."

Maze raised an eyebrow as she taped the bandage down. "Demon," she replied simply. "And if not for Chloe and Trixie-"

"Are you saying you would have left her?" Lucifer demanded.

"No," Maze retorted, "but I would have gone after her alone so you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"I don't regret it," Lucifer repeated. "But the disgusting creature who kidnapped Trixie is going to regret many, many things."

"Are you ready?" Maze asked, holding out a knife.

Lucifer took it, stepping towards the chained up man. He allowed his human visage to slip, revealing his true face. The man started screaming.

"Oh, Maze, you know I am."

* * *

The next morning, Lucifer returned to Chloe's house. Maze had disposed of the body of the lead kidnapper earlier, after a full night's worth of torture. Chloe, Lucifer was certain, wouldn't approve, but he wasn't about to tell her. Instead, he had groceries in the back of the car and a plan to make omelets for lunch.

Bag in hand, Lucifer went up to the door and knocked. Chloe opened it a moment later. "You can knock?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you just always broke in."

"I am capable of knocking, yes." Lucifer held up the bag. "I brought lunch supplies."

"You were serious about that?" Chloe replied, moving aside to let Lucifer in. "I thought you were kidding."

"I make a very good omelet," Lucifer replied, setting the bag on the counter. Lowering his voice, he added, "Where's Trixie?"

"Sleeping, I think," Chloe replied. "She had trouble sleeping last night."

"Understandable," Lucifer murmured, wishing he'd managed to fit in a bit more torture the night before. "And Dan?"

"He left. He's in the middle of a big case and couldn't afford to take the day off."

"Not even for his own daughter?" Lucifer replied, anger rising. He'd been restraining himself from calling Dan "Detective Douche," but considering his behavior, it seemed the nickname was as apt as ever.

"The killer has struck five times so far," Chloe replied, running her hands through her hair. "It's not his fault."

"Does Trixie understand that?" Lucifer retorted.

"I don't want to argue about it," Chloe sighed, sounding exhausted. "Can we just not today?"

"What do you like in your omelets?" Lucifer asked, taking out ingredients.

"Everything," Chloe replied, a slight smile on her face. "But not too spicy."

"And Trixie?" Lucifer asked, grabbing Chloe's apron and putting it on.

"Ham, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion," Chloe replied. Her smile widened. "I bet she'll smell it and wake up. I've never been able to make her a surprise omelet."

Chloe was right. Halfway through cooking Trixie's omelet, Trixie padded out of her room, rubbing her eyes. "Lucifer!" she cried, running forward and hugging him tightly.

"Hello," Lucifer greeted Trixie fondly. "Your mother says this is your favorite omelet."

"It is!" Trixie agreed. "I didn't know you could cook!"

"I happen to be very good at making omelets," Lucifer replied. "And I thought I'd make something nice for you and your mother."

Trixie nestled her face into Lucifer's apron. "Thank you," she told him softly.

"Why don't you go wash your face, monkey?" Chloe asked. "Then I can take a look at your wrists again."

"What's wrong with her wrists?" Lucifer demanded the second Trixie was out of earshot.

"They've got some rope burn," Chloe replied. "By the way, is your arm okay?"

"It's fine," Lucifer replied, trying not to sound as furious as he felt. Judging by the look on Chloe's face, he wasn't succeeding.

"I get that you're pissed," she told Lucifer softly. "Trust me, I'm pissed too. But Trixie needs us to be normal for today, okay? It's what she wants."

"I'll do my best, Detective," Lucifer replied, tending to the omelet with distracted motions. "And I can promise you that the men who did this faced the justice that they deserved."

"Don't tell me about it!" Chloe demanded immediately. "If you tell me what happened, I'll have to arrest you. Just- Tell me they won't hurt anyone else ever again."

"They won't," Lucifer promised. "I can swear that to you."

"And don't ever mention anything about what you did to Dan," Chloe added. "He won't take it well at all."

"I wouldn't," Lucifer replied, sliding Trixie's omelet onto a plate and starting on Chloe's.

"Mommy!" Trixie called. "Can you look at my wrists now?"

"Coming, monkey!" Chloe called, making her way to the bathroom.

Lucifer looked back down at the omelet, realizing he was gripping the handle of the skillet so tightly his knuckles had gone white. He hoped Hell hadn't fallen apart in his absence and, for the first time, was tempted to check. He needed to make sure that the men who had kidnapped Trixie were punished for eternity.

By the time Trixie and Chloe came out, Chloe's omelet was done and Lucifer had made one for himself as well. "Yummy!" Trixie cried, grabbing her plate and going over to the table. Lucifer caught a glimpse of the gauze on her wrists and resisted the urge to throw the skillet through the window.

"Wow, Lucifer, you can really cook," Chloe complimented, taking a bite of her omelet. "This is good."

"Omelets are one of the few things I can cook, I'm afraid, but thank you," Lucifer replied. He finished his first and brought the plate over to the sink, rinsing it and putting it in the dishwasher. While Chloe and Trixie finished, he began washing the skillet he'd cooked with.

"Lucifer, you don't need to do the dishes," Chloe called. "You cooked. That's more than enough."

"It's no problem, Detective," Lucifer replied, scrubbing the skillet. "It's my treat."

Chloe brought her plate up to the dishwasher. "I thought you were going to act normal," she whispered in Lucifer's ear.

"I can be nice normally," Lucifer retorted. "Would you rather clean up yourself?"

"What about your arm?" Trixie called from the table, apparently able to hear at least the last remark. "If I'm hurt, Mommy never makes me do chores."

"I'm not hurt badly," Lucifer assured Trixie. "It's only a scrape." It was more than that, but Lucifer healed quickly. He and Maze had found that his healing accelerated when he was away from Chloe and Trixie and slowed to a human speed when he was in their proximity. As such, Lucifer's arm had healed quite a bit overnight.

"You really don't need to wash that," Chloe told Lucifer as he finished scrubbing the skillet.

"Already done," Lucifer replied, grinning at Chloe as he set it aside.

"You're impossible," Chloe sighed, but the smile on her face betrayed her fondness.

"Can we watch a movie?" Trixie asked, coming over to the sink with her own plate.

"Sure we can," Chloe replied, nodding and kneeling to be closer to Trixie's height. "What do you want to watch?"

"Mulan!" Trixie cried. "Lucifer, have you ever seen Mulan?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't," Lucifer replied, shaking his head. "What is it?"

"Mommy, he's never seen Mulan," Trixie whispered to Chloe, her eyes wide as if this were the most absurd thing she'd ever heard.

"We'll have to show it to him, then," Chloe replied. "Go get it set up, monkey. Lucifer and I will be there in a minute."

"Okay!" Trixie replied, running to the couch and turning on the TV.

"Thank you again," Chloe told Lucifer quietly. "I just- I can't imagine what I would do if anything happened to Trixie. And I don't even want to think what could have happened to her if you weren't there."

"They took her because of me," Lucifer admitted softly. He hadn't mentioned that before, but he didn't feel that he could keep hiding it from Chloe. "They thought she was my daughter and they took her to get to me."

"They took her to get to you?" Chloe repeated. "Dan and I figured it was because we're cops. We didn't think it had anything to do with you."

"I have enemies as well, Detective," Lucifer replied. "I- I can understand if you don't want me to continue spending time with Trixie, in light of this."

"Why wouldn't I want her to spend time with you?" Chloe asked, frowning.

"Because I put her in danger. If not for me, she wouldn't have been kidnapped."

"You didn't mean to put her in danger," Chloe countered. "And you saved her. I still don't want to know how, but you did it."

"I will always save her," Lucifer told Chloe firmly.

"And that's why I'm not going to stop her from spending time with you," Chloe replied simply. "Lucifer, I know you would never hurt her, not in a million years. And I'm not going to keep her away from you just because she could get hurt in your orbit. She could get hurt in mine too, or Dan's. That doesn't change anything. We're still her family."

"Family?" Lucifer repeated, stunned.

"Mulan is ready!" Trixie yelled from the couch.

Chloe grinned. "Family," she repeated. "Come on, let's go watch Mulan."

* * *

The next Wednesday, Lucifer went to pick Trixie up at school, the same as he always did. "Lucifer!" she cried, running over to him the second she saw him.

For the first time, Lucifer bent down and returned her hug when she barreled into his legs. "Shall we go back to Lux and have our lesson?"

Trixie held up a hand for Lucifer to hold. The rope burn on her wrists was all but gone, and the bullet wound in Lucifer's arm was almost a distant memory.

"Can you teach me how to play Happy Birthday?" Trixie asked as they walked to the car. "Daddy's birthday is coming up and I want to play it for him."

"Couldn't we come up with something else more appropriate for your father?" Lucifer countered.

Trixie frowned. "What does that mean?"

Maybe Chloe said that she wouldn't stop Lucifer from spending time with Trixie, but Lucifer had a feeling that the piano lessons would get banned pretty quickly if he taught Trixie to play anything but Happy Birthday for Dan. "I can teach you Happy Birthday," he relented, and he couldn't help but smile as Trixie cheered.


End file.
